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Obama Administration Proposes New Offshore Drilling Rules

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration on Monday proposed new offshore oil and natural-gas drilling regulations aimed at preventing the kind of explosion that erupted nearly five years ago on BP ’s Deepwater Horizon rig, including many provisions the industry has already adopted. The Interior Department draft rule imposes tougher standards on equipment designed to keep control of a well, including blowout preventers, and requires real-time monitoring for certain kinds of drilling that are in deep water or are done at high pressures. A blowout preventer, which is designed to seal off wells in emergencies, failed on April, 20, 2010, and helped lead to the explosion on the BP rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 people and caused the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Interior Department officials stressed the collaboration between government and industry in strengthening drilling standards. “Both industry and government have taken important strides to […]

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North Dakota rig slump continues

Number of rigs in service in North Dakota down by half from historic peak. File Photo by Calin Tatu/Shutterstock. BISMARCK, N.D., April 13 (UPI) — The number of rigs actively exploring for or producing oil and gas in North Dakota, is down more than half from its historic peak, state data show Monday. State data show 93 rigs in active service in North Dakota, a state at the heart of the shale boom in the United States. That’s one of the lowest rig counts in years, marking a 50 percent decline year-on-year and a 55 percent from the historic peak reached in 2012. The low price of oil, down about half from its June 2014 peak for the U.S. benchmark, has forced energy companies to spend less on exploration and production. Oil services company Baker Hughes last week reported 988 active rigs in the United States for the week […]

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Americas seek stronger energy ties

President Barack Obama greets Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday at the seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama. Regional leaders there looked inward to address economic issues associated with energy. Photo courtesy of The White House/Twitter PANAMA CITY, Panama, April 13 (UPI) — Stronger ties in the regional energy sector may help with economic development in the Western Hemisphere, U.S. and Canadian leaders said. Regional dynamics were upended during the Summit of the Americas that concluded during the weekend in Panama City, Panama. Senior delegates from all 35 countries in the region took part in the summit billed as an opportunity to advance mutual interests in areas ranging from education to energy. The region hosts some of the largest oil producers in the world, from Venezuela, a leading member of the Organization of Petroleum Countries, to the United States and Canada. U.S. President Barack Obama said […]

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Russia’s Gazprom warns EU over gas, Ukraine

BERLIN/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s top gas producer Gazprom warned the European Union on Monday against moves to block Moscow’s plans to bypass Ukraine as a transit country for its gas to Europe and said it needed guarantees on gas purchases. Russia is pushing ahead with plans to build a pipeline to Turkey and further on to Greece via the Black Sea, in line with its plans to stop exporting gas via Ukraine by 2019. Moscow had to drop its $40 billion South Stream pipeline via Bulgaria to Europe last year, saying it was blocked by EU regulations, choosing the Turkish Stream project instead. "If someone thinks about blocking Turkish Stream … it is a very serious mistake," Gazprom head Alexei Miller told a conference in Berlin, adding volumes could go to other markets and construction of the pipeline could be paused if necessary. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Russian […]

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Shell standing above its peers

Shell’s billion-dollar ambitions in arctic waters off the coast of Alaska in stark contract to industry peers. Photo by longtaildog/Shutterstock LONDON, April 13 (UPI) — Shell’s grab of energy giant BG Group and a legal victory for frontier work offshore Alaska leaves rivals in the dust, though environmentalist are unimpressed. The board of directors at Shell and BG group issued a joint statement last week saying they’ve reached an agreement for the Dutch acquisition of its British rival . A weekend editorial from The Telegraph newspaper in London said the grab is an "audacious" move in a "new wave of oil industry consolidation" that’s greeted a slump in oil prices that’s lasted nearly a year. The deal, valued at around $70 billion, is among the largest acquisitions since the Exxon Mobil merger was completed in 1999. For Shell, the acquisition may move the Dutch supermajor into the "pole position" […]

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Statoil finds more gas in Norwegian Sea

Norwegian energy company Statoil makes second gas discovery in Norwegian Sea in less than a month. Image courtesy of Statoil. STAVANGER, Norway, April 13 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said Monday it made a gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea in an area near a find made less than a month ago. The company said it made a discovery in the Roald Rygg prospect in the Aasta Hansteen area of the Norwegian Sea. The company estimates the volume of the discovery to be between 12 million and 44 million barrels of oil equivalent. The deepwater platform tied to Aasta Hansteen will be among the largest in the world once full field production begins in 2017. The reserve area is "one of the main projects" in Statoil’s portfolio, the company said. Norway is among the top natural gas exporters to the European market. Natural gas discoveries last year increased […]

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Gazprom chief warns EU over pricing challenge

A worker fits an OAO Gazprom branded protective end cap to a seamless steel pipe destined for use in the company’s South Stream gas pipeline, at the Vyksa Steel Works, operated by the United Metallurgical Co. (OMK), in Vyksa, Russia, on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. Russian equities trading in New York fell for a third day, the longest slide in a month, as clashes in eastern Ukraine added to speculation that the U.S. and Europe will step up economic sanctions against the Kremlin. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg Gazprom , Russia’s state controlled gas exporter, has said attempts by Brussels to crack down on its pricing model will backfire — and trigger higher average energy costs across Europe. Alexei Miller, chief executive, issued the warning on Monday as the European Union prepares a landmark antitrust case over accusations that Gazprom overcharged customers in eastern Europe. Brussels is also drawing up plans […]

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Scotland should be shielded from low oil price, says Salmond

North Sea oil rig or gas platform Scotland could be shielded by the rest of the UK from the impact of low North Sea oil revenues even if it gains the “full fiscal autonomy” demanded by the Scottish National party, former SNP leader Alex Salmond has claimed. The suggestion that Scotland could continue to benefit from billions of pounds in fiscal transfers from the UK even if it takes full control over all its revenues is likely to outrage SNP critics south of the border. Pro-union parties have already put pressure on the SNP over its call for devolution of all taxes in Scotland, saying that slumping oil revenues would mean a massive fiscal crunch for Scottish governments that would no longer receive a large proportion of their funding from London. But in a column  for the pro-independence The National newspaper, Mr Salmond suggested the “no detriment” principle adopted […]

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Oil surges above $59 as traders cover short positions

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil surged above $59 a barrel on Monday in a volatile market as traders covered short positions, after a strong end to last week as financial traders increased bets on higher prices amid a slowdown in U.S. drilling. Front-month Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading up $1.40 at $59.28 a barrel by 0810 GMT (12.10 a.m. ET), while U.S. crude CLc1 had risen $1.22 to $52.86 a barrel. "Recently there is no direction. If the market rises a lot then a lot of short covers come into the market. It’s the same when prices fall," said Ken Hasegawa, comodity sales manager at Newedge. Speculators in U.S. crude futures and options raised net long positions by 52 million barrels in the week to April 7, their biggest weekly rise since 2011, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. Reuters data shows open interest in WTI […]

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Global recovery at risk of stalling

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde speaks during an discussion panel at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) head office in Mumbai on March 17, 2015. Emerging markets must prepare for the impact of US interest rate rises, whose timing could surprise markets, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned in India on March 17. Speaking alongside India’s central bank governor Raghuram Rajan, Lagarde said the so-called "taper tantrum" that hit emerging economies hard in 2013 could be repeated. AFP PHOTO / PUNIT PARANJPEPUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/Getty Images The global economy is mired in a “stop and go” recovery “at risk of stalling again”, according to the latest Brookings Institution-Financial Times tracking index. The index, released ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s twice-yearly forecasts this week, highlights how the modestly improved growth outlook in advanced economies has been offset by weakness in emerging markets . “A modest reversal of fortunes between […]

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